1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a checkout-system arrangement having an item-acquisition device for acquiring selected items.
2. Description of the Related Art
The known checkout-system arrangement includes an item-acquisition unit that has a scanner for acquiring the items and a first conveyor belt for conveying the items placed on the first conveyor belt past the scanner. The checkout-system arrangement furthermore comprises a packing device that has at least two item-receiving units, which are separate from one another, for receiving the items acquired by means of the scanner and for making the items available for retrieval by a customer. Such checkout-system arrangements are known from points of sale, in particular from retail outlets and from supermarkets, in which in each case a multiplicity of customers in each case purchase a multiplicity of selected items that are acquired by a checkout-system arrangement and, after acquisition, are made available to the customer for retrieval. Known checkout-system arrangements are disclosed in EP 2386227 A1, DE 10312421 B3 and EP 0338376 B1.
The related art also includes what are termed self-checkout systems in addition to the checkout-system arrangements in which the items are acquired by a checkout operator and in which the checkout operator handles the payment procedure. In the self-checkout systems, acquisition of the items takes place automatically or by the customer by means of a scanner and the payment procedure likewise takes place without involving any checkout operator. These known checkout-system arrangements have a packing table as a packing device. The packing table is arranged at the end of a conveyor belt that conveys the items from the scanning region to the packing table. Such a packing table may have at least two item-receiving units that are separate from one another. Thus, the items of two customers being successively processed at the checkout-system arrangement can be separately received.
So-called tunnel scanners for the automatic acquisition of selected items are known in which the items are conveyed on a conveyor belt along the scanner that is arranged around the conveyor belt, so that the items can be acquired by means of the tunnel scanner. Typical tunnel scanners have first and second conveyor belts. The first conveyor belt conveys the items into the scanning region and is referred to as a leader belt. The second conveyor belt conveys the items out of the scanning region and is referred to as a return belt. A gap exists between the two conveyor belts, such that, in this gap, the scanning arrangement can also acquire from below the items being conveyed through the scanning region.
In the case of checkout-system arrangements having tunnel scanners, high flexibility is desirable in the design of the two conveyor belts that are arranged at least in part in the scanning region and in the design of the packing device, in order for the checkout-system arrangement to be adapted readily to the local conditions and the requirements of the respective points of sale. The design of the packing concept of the checkout-system arrangement here depends on the planned process of the respective wholesale or retail outlet and has to be adapted to its requirements. Specifically in the case of high scanner speeds the packing devices are often the bottlenecks of the entire system, since insufficient space is available for a plurality of customers having checkout baskets of different sizes. Additionally, often a plurality of checkout-system arrangements have to be adapted to the available space.
It is the object of the invention to provide a checkout-system arrangement that is readily adaptable to the respective requirements.